September 16, 2013 – October 26, 2013
Alfred C. O’Connell Library
Genesee Community College Batavia, New York
Two books from the Brown History of Medicine Collection will be a part of the new exhibit “Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War” at the O’Connell Library at Genesee Community College. Reminiscences of an army nurse during the Civil War by Adelaide Smith and A Manual of Military Surgery… by Samual D. Gross, MD, were loaned to the library for the event. The History of Medicine Collection is pleased to be able to contribute to this exciting undertaking! Attendance is free and open to the public. (Some historical battlefield and medical images and materials in the exhibit may not be suitable for pre-teen or grade school age students.)
Photos and text below courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.
“The perspectives of surgeons, physicians, and nurses are richly documented in the history of Civil War medicine, which highlights the heroism and brutality of battlefield operations and the challenges of caring for the wounded during wartime. Yet the experiences of injured soldiers during the conflict and in the years afterwards are less well-known.
More than three million soldiers fought in the war from 1861-1865. More than half a million died, and almost as many were wounded but survived. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs. Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War explores the experiences of disabled Civil War veterans who served as a symbol of the fractured nation and a stark reminder of the costs of the conflict.”